Chapter 16: I Thought Double Suicide Was Just an Ancient Rumor!

In the previous simulation, that heavy fog…

He had been suddenly swallowed by it, then run into horrifying creatures, and finally died with regret.

It seemed almost identical to the situation in this latest simulation.

He wondered what connection the two incidents might share.

“Was it just bad luck that I happened to run into this mess, or was the mess itself… coming straight for me?”

Su Ze rubbed his chin and kept thinking deeply.

Judging by the intel he had so far, mere bad luck still seemed the likelier explanation.

After all, he was not the only one who had run into such horror.

In fact, some people appeared to have not only encountered it but even managed to escape…

“If I run a few more simulations, maybe the relevant intel will become clearer.”

Pulling back his thoughts, Su Ze took a deep breath.

Come to think of it, Chen Keqing had also evolved in the last simulation and become an Awakener…

That result was not all that surprising.

After all, he had a wealth of information at hand.

At the very least she would not suffer in the spell department.

All Chen Keqing had to do was pass the trial in her nightmare.

That trial usually had no direct connection to brute force.

Yet it almost always revolved around a fixed theme.

For instance, in a ‘mutant animal’ Contaminated Zone, if you touched the zone’s pollution source, the nightmare trial would inevitably be animal-related.

Whether everyone’s nightmare trial was identical was something Su Ze still had not figured out…

“If the trials are fixed, couldn’t I treat them like game dungeons? If I knew every walkthrough in advance, wouldn’t I breeze through them…”

Even so, Su Ze still felt pessimistic about his own plan to become an Awakener.

He had failed too many times before…

Many of those failures had come despite having ample intel.

It made him wonder whether Heaven itself had it out for him…

Soon after.

The simulator’s 10-minute cooldown was almost up.

Su Ze also jotted down a few lines of intel that needed investigating…

Was the path to becoming an Awakener actually fixed?

What exactly were those incredibly powerful monsters that had appeared after doomsday?

Questions like these had to be answered in the next simulations…

『Simulator cooldown has ended…』

『Apocalypse simulation has begun』

The moment time was up, Su Ze started a new run.

『Please select one of the following three Talents as your innate Talent for this run!』

『Demon Contract (gold): You can live for at most 60 days, but fate will guide you and you will obtain a treasure during your short doomsday journey』

『I Am MT (green): Your hide is thick, you are excellent at taking a beating, and you can use a taunt skill; it may fail, but if it succeeds the enemy will attack only you』

『Sword Control Technique (blue): You can wield flying swords and control up to 6 at once; their maximum power equals that of small-caliber shells, but the Talent consumes a lot of energy』

As expected, the golden Talent caught Su Ze’s eye.

However, this golden Talent was truly odd…

“A Talent that lets me live only 60 days, and that’s at most…”

When a golden Talent appeared, there was no reason not to pick it.

Yet the ability of this Talent left Su Ze feeling very uneasy.

What kind of treasure could be worth paying such a steep price…

If this were the real doomsday moment,

Su Ze certainly would not have chosen such an option.

But this was only simulation time…

Then there was nothing more to discuss.

Let’s do it!

『Innate Talent ‘Demon Contract (gold)’ selected』

『Simulation start…』

『Day 1: Doomsday arrives right on schedule; you choose Aobo Community as your spawn point…』

『Day 2: The temperature plummets; you and Chen Keqing make a steaming hot-pot at home, and after dinner you sit together while you tell her a lot of doomsday intel, which leaves her flustered…』

『To calm her frightened little heart, you sleep with her.』

『Day 3: Horrifying rumors fly everywhere, seemingly confirming yesterday’s fears, yet Chen Keqing is much calmer and you praise her change of mindset』

『Day 4: The power and water go out and the situation worsens…』

『Day 5: Many refugees pour into the complex』

『Day 6: You teach Chen Keqing how to handle a gun because you feel the current dwelling is unsafe, especially now that Awakeners have begun to appear…』

『Day 7: Chen Keqing learns quickly』

『Day 8: An Awakener shows up in the complex; with the help of the Talent Father God Listens, you gather intel everywhere, for you have a plan to help Chen Keqing awaken as soon as possible』

『Day 9: You share the plan in your heart with Chen Keqing and clearly state the dangers; she is a little scared』

『Day 10: Discipline inside the complex loosens and you keep collecting intel in secret』

『Day 11: You finish gathering intel and believe you are ready; meanwhile Chen Keqing steels herself and decides to take the risk, but she has one condition…』

『Day 12: You spend all day in bed together; that is Chen Keqing’s condition』

『Day 13: After the exhaustion you reveal your healing ability to Chen Keqing; she is astonished and her confidence soars, no longer afraid of the upcoming adventure』

『Day 14: The number of Awakeners in the Safe Zone increases; you drive with Chen Keqing to a Contaminated Zone and both of you make contact with the pollution source』

『Day 15: You stand guard over Chen Keqing all night, yet nothing happens』

『Day 16: Chen Keqing has a nightmare and, upon waking, successfully advances into an Awakener; she forgets most of the dream but vaguely remembers all the intel you gave her and uses it all』

Success again…

Leveraging the advantage of intel, he had helped Chen Keqing ascend without incident.

If such a method worked for Chen Keqing, it ought to work for others as well.

It just depended on whether Su Ze wished to do so.

Aside from that…

The current simulation content again sparked thoughts in Su Ze’s mind.

“A safe house… offers zero sense of security.”

Although the simulation offered little description, Su Ze could sense the problem.

His simulated self clearly felt far from safe.

Staying inside the Safe Zone required constant vigilance toward others.

Especially after Awakeners began to show up.

In this run he had not chosen a combat Talent.

Direct conflict with an Awakener would likely end badly.

That was precisely why his simulated self had hurried to help Chen Keqing awaken…

He needed a far safer environment.

『Day 17: An Awakener covets Chen Keqing’s beauty; the two of you fight as a duo and kill him; during the fight you display an unbelievable healing power, prompting some Awakeners to try to recruit you』

『Day 18: The Safe Zone you belong to stabilizes and you and Chen Keqing become deeply involved in its leadership team…』

『Day 19: You attempt to become an Awakener but fail, losing 1 point of healing energy…』

『Day 20: You notice that another Awakener is still lusting after Chen Keqing’s looks; you set a trap and kill him, but a small mistake allows the news to leak…』

『Day 21: After discussing it with Chen Keqing, you leave the Safe Zone…』

『Day 22: You return to the Banshan Complex near the campus; it is a mirror world Contaminated Zone, and you settle here with Chen Keqing』

『Day 23: You calculate the next mirror world activation time and draft a detailed schedule…』

『Day 24: You and Chen Keqing begin a shameless daily life together…』

『…』

『Day 35: The mirror world’s activation time shifts slightly, but thanks to Demon Contract you sense a strong threat in advance; you take Chen Keqing out to lie low and dodge an assassination』

『Day 36: You return home and continue your shameless routine』

『Day 37: More shamelessness…』

『…』

『Day 45: A strong sense of destiny grips you; you drive away, pass through several Contaminated Zones, and find your treasure beneath the pier of the river-spanning bridge… You bring the treasure back and study it all day.』

『Day 46: The treasure is extremely mysterious and you have no clue, but the Talent Father God Listens suddenly activates… You learn the answer… the item you obtained is a scrap of the draft paper a deity used when attempting to create a world; it has no name, so you give it one, and from now on it is called Avalon.

『Day 47: You study how to use Avalon; in simple terms it is a dimensional space that you can shape internally through imagination… But you can shape it only once.』

『Day 48: You successfully mold Avalon’s interior; Chen Keqing is overjoyed and shows off her cooking, making lots of delicious food… 『But the price of Demon Contract triggers at this moment; blood streams from your seven orifices and you cannot use your healing ability; as you lie dying, you hear Chen Keqing’s sobs and a single gunshot… she commits suicide to follow you.』